Chris Evans is going to direct

Having a slash is important these days—being just an actor isn’t enough anymore—and Chris Evans has decided to tack “slash-director” onto his resume with a movie called 1:30 Train. It’s about a couple that meets in New York and spends a magical night together, exploring the city and each other (I added that last part, but it does sound like that kind of movie). It seems like exactly the sort of trite romantic drivel he supposedly wanted to get away from after the Horrible Movie Hall of Famer What’s Your Number? And now he’s going to not only star in it, but produce and direct it, as well.

Apparently this is a passion project for Evans, who does have a history of hitching his wagon to various indie projects and doing whatever he can to give them a leg up, which is nice. It’s just that his taste kind of sucks. I like Chris Evans, but I would never accredit him with an overabundance of good taste. So it does make me wonder—is he directing this because he really wants to be a director, or does he feel like it’s the only way the movie will get made? The latter is actually understandable. Possibly misguided, but understandable. The former, though, makes me want to sit him down and give the “know your limits” speech my parents gave me when I was a kid.

I’m probably being too hard on him. He’ll be fine, especially if he hires a good director of photography and editor to smooth out the first-time director bumps. Besides, if Ben Affleck can reinvent himself as a respected filmmaker, then why not Chris Evans, too?